


I Can’t Even Drink Champagne

by sparkandwolf (thatnerdemryn)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Victorian, Bridgerton the Musical, Champagne, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fate, Idiots in Love, Inspired by Bridgerton (TV), M/M, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Songfic, Sterek Valentine Week 2021, if you squint? - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:48:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29435589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatnerdemryn/pseuds/sparkandwolf
Summary: You never said sorry, I guess you forgot. Or maybe you’re not sorry at all.At least, Stiles wanted to believe that. Derek was chatting with people Stiles knew he could care less about and ignoring every glance that Stiles sent his way. Maybe he had read their relationship all wrong. He had thought that their fire, the spark they had between them, meant they were worth fighting for, but maybe Stiles was just as much of a fool as Derek had accused him of being. Maybe he should take one of the offered hands and run away forever without giving a second thought to Derek Hale.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 12
Kudos: 128
Collections: Sterek Valentine Week





	I Can’t Even Drink Champagne

**Author's Note:**

> I have been recently obsessed with the Netflix Original Series, Bridgerton, and the impromptu Bridgerton Musical being produced on tik tok. This fic was wholly and truly inspired by that masterpiece. Find the song used for Stiles [here](https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMe8nC1EH/) and the song used for Derek [here](https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMe8nC38n/)! 
> 
> I have combined two prompts, _Champagne & Fate_, in order to completely finish out **Sterek Valentine Week **!! Thank you so much for running this extraordinarily fun event and giving me the opportunity to challenge myself. Hope you all enjoy this one!!****

_ What a beautiful party, I’m looking up at the ceiling a lot. The chandelier is so sparkly. _

Stiles stared up at the intricate details etched into the ceiling, ignoring the pang in his heart that hadn’t seemed to disappear since the last time he laid his eyes on Derek. The last time they had truly spoken had been to fight. It was the only way they had been able to communicate since their ruse had ended. He thought back to the game they played on the townspeople and felt his chest tightening. It was never in the plan to fall for Derek but he was powerless against it once it had started. 

They had spent weeks under the guise of courting; the famous Bachelor of Beacon Hills that would never take a mate and the son of the most well-respected consort the royal family had ever seen. Stiles was grateful to have someone like Derek on his side. He trusted the plan and in the end, had some of the most eligible men in the country fighting for his hand. But Stiles didn’t want any of them even when he had felt Derek pulling away. 

When it was time to stop their ruse and for Stiles to choose a  _ real _ mate, neither of them had wanted their plan to end. It didn’t matter to Stiles that Derek wasn’t always honest or shirked around the truth of his past. Stiles didn’t  _ care _ about living a little differently than he intended if it meant he got to spend the rest of his life with Derek. He thought Derek had understood that as well, but all he ever did was fight. Derek’s first instinct was to argue, to berate, but Stiles knew that wasn’t who he wanted to be. 

_ You never said sorry, I guess you forgot. Or maybe you’re not sorry at all. _

At least, Stiles wanted to believe that. Derek was chatting with people Stiles knew he could care less about and ignoring every glance that Stiles sent his way. Maybe he had read their relationship all wrong. He had thought that their fire, the spark they had between them, meant they were worth fighting for, but maybe Stiles was just as much of a fool as Derek had accused him of being. Maybe he should take one of the offered hands and run away forever without giving a second thought to Derek Hale. 

_ What a beautiful evening. I want to know just what the hell are you drinking? _

Stiles couldn’t stop his gaze from wandering to Derek with every passing moment. Even through the chatter and laughter the echoed through the open space, Stiles was all too aware of the sounds that belonged to Derek; the husky tone of his low voice, the way he cleared his throat when he was anxious, the exasperated sighs that were like music to Stiles’ ears as he rejected yet another offer of courtship. 

Derek sipped on his flute filled with bubbles that seemed to stay on his lips, only disappearing when his tongue would slide out and pull them into his mouth. Stiles was mesmerized by everything Derek was and did, and Derek just stood there as if Stiles didn’t even exist. 

_ Stoic, emotionless, over us all so quickly. What am I missing?  _

“Are you okay, Stiles?” His father’s voice knocked him from his thoughts as he tried to figure out what game Derek was playing at. Stiles was stewing in his mind and Derek was wandering around the room as if he owned the place, as if his heart wasn’t shattered into a million pieces as Stiles still continued picking up the remains of his own. 

“I just want this party to be over,” Stiles admitted, leaning into the way his father squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. “I’m sorry that I--”

“You have nothing to be sorry for. You’re in love with Derek and if I could, I would kill him for making you have the look in your eyes that you have right now,” his father stated, narrowing his eyes over Stiles’ head. Stiles had known that Derek was behind him. He started to avoid looking at Derek’s face in hopes that his pulse would slow down and his stomach would stop leaping in hope whenever their eyes almost met, but that meant knowing where he was at every moment. 

“Derek is not the only one to blame. You taught me how to be a man and I let all your lessons go to waste,” Stiles challenged as he rested his palm over his father’s hand, removing it so he could reach for a glass of champagne on the nearest table. 

“I taught you to follow your heart and you did that. I’m proud of you, son,” his father stated, leaning to catch Stiles’ gaze so his son could see just how true the words were. Stiles held up the flute to his lips and nodded just as his father was pulled away by someone else. 

_ I can’t even drink champagne without seeing your face.  _

Stiles gazed into the slim glass, attempting to lose himself in the way the liquid bubbled and fizzed, but all he could see was Derek. The reflection of Derek’s smile as he faked a chuckle that Stiles could easily discern from his real laugh, the way Derek’s eyes glanced around the room before they settled on him. He had thought Derek wasn’t looking at him, but in actuality, Stiles just hadn’t noticed the way Derek’s eyes bore into the back of his head or the way his gaze seemed pulled by some magnetic force of fate to always land on Stiles when he smiled. 

Stiles could work with that. 

* * *

_ What a terrible soiree. With terrible people pretending they’re happy in this masquerade.  _

There was no way that everyone in that room had been as joyful as their fake smiles and childish giggles had let on. Derek knew for a fact that the town wasn’t as perfect as everyone seemed to pretend it to be and events like the one he was forced to attend just made it that much more real to him. When he finally forced himself to glance over at Stiles, the wide smile on his face made Derek’s heart skip a beat. He couldn’t be sure that Stiles was pretending to be happy. He wasn’t positive that he ever made Stiles happier with their ruse and that fact tortured him every day since the last they had spoken. 

The ruse had been Derek’s idea, that much was true, but he never expected it to go out of his control. He saw Stiles, eager to please and find a mate to make his father proud, and thought it would be a flawless idea. He could make nerdy, talkative, overly enthusiastic, and quite spastic Stiles look like the perfect catch and keep his uncle off his back by obtaining the perfect mate to restore the family name. It made perfect sense, at the time. 

He never expected Stiles to be  _ his _ perfect mate. Stiles made his heart burst in a way no one had before, made him feel secure and worth something when all he had ever felt was rejection and unease. Stiles would smile at him and tease him and talk circles around him and Derek made the choice to continue their ruse no matter how much his mind cautioned him against it. 

_ We go through the motions when all that we wish is escape, from the choices we make.  _

There Stiles was, catching the eye of every eligible person in the room, and all Derek wanted to do was run. He  _ had _ Stiles in his grasp and he let him escape. He got to know Stiles deeper than he had bothered to with anyone before and let Stiles in further than he had expected. He gave Stiles the chance to escape and he stayed. He gave Stiles the chance to run away and he just danced closer as if the thought had never occurred to him. What was Derek to do other than push him away? 

They were too close, too far removed from their initial ruse to think clearly and Derek did what any reasonable person would have done. He picked at Stiles’ insecurities and made his own blatantly clear in order to push Stiles to rush away. Yet he still  _ stayed _ and Derek had to remind him that what they had was a game. It was a game they had both played to the finish. He wasn’t going to allow himself to hurt or be hurt by Stiles and it left him broken inside. 

_ And I see him smiling. How can he be smiling? There’s been no reconciling. And when he’s in my focus, he won’t even notice my gaze.  _

To see him smiling was too much for Derek even after a few short minutes. He took his time wandering around the broad expanse of the decorative room, trying to ignore the way his eyes seemed to gravitate toward Stiles with every move he made. He shook his head to rid himself of the thought of Stiles, but he couldn’t shake off the way Stiles’ smile seemed just as bright as it always had. 

Derek didn’t want him to be upset or sad, but maybe just a little bit as broken as Derek had felt the last few days. Was it so easy for Stiles to toss aside what had started as a ruse but turned into so much more? Derek had thought he had done the right thing in ending their game before it could get too out of hand, but there was a part of him that had thought Stiles was just as far gone as him. 

Derek thought that tossing the ruse aside would mean that their real feelings could be expressed, but his plan had backfired the minute he let Stiles out of his grasp. How could he have been so stupid to pretend that someone like Stiles wouldn’t move on easily and ignore the emotions that Derek thought were so evident on his face? 

Without even trying, his gaze settled on Stiles once again. His stunning face reflected off of the bubbles fizzing in the champagne flute he held up to his lips, slowly draining the liquid down his throat. Even a reflection of Stiles was enough to have Derek’s heart racing and his hand fisting as he resisted the urge to reach out and pull Stiles close to him again. 

_ How can he be okay? When I can’t even drink champagne without seeing your face.  _

Derek downed his glass of champagne just in time for an arm to slide through him and he jumped at the touch. 

“Care for a dance, Derek?” At the casual use of his name, he glanced over at the figure pulling him toward the dance floor and was happy to see his sister on his arm. “You look like you’re about to drink the entire bar or go punch someone in the face,” Laura noted, patting Derek gently on the cheek with her perfectly manicured hand. 

“I guess either of those are possible at the moment,” Derek muttered, swirling his sister around if only to avoid seeing Stiles wrapped around another man. The music was slow and swelling and Derek’s heart beat to bursting at the fact Stiles wasn’t the one in his arms. 

“Why don’t you just ask him to dance, Derek?” Laura asked innocently, taking control of the dance so she could twirl them around and Derek could face Stiles. He closed his eyes but he couldn’t dodge the sight of the hand resting on the small of Stiles’ back or the way Stiles’ feet moved perfectly with the beat. Derek loved dancing with Stiles which said a lot because Derek was never one to dance. 

“I can’t do that, Laura,” Derek argued because he truly couldn’t. At the beginning of he and Stiles’ agreement, they said that when it was over, it was over. Stiles was dancing happily with a potential suitor and Derek was being held up from rock bottom by his sister. It wasn’t where he had expected to be that night, but it was where he would end up. 

_ Am I the one to blame when we’re dancing in the same room, but you’re an ocean away? _

But apparently, Laura didn’t like that answer. At the change of tempo, Laura pushed him in Stiles’ direction and grabbed the person that was wrapped around Stiles. As Stiles started to fall, Derek was there to catch him. He pulled Stiles upright and Laura booted them into position as they continued their dance. Stiles looked everywhere but Derek’s eyes and Derek had to ignore the way his stomach trembled or embarrass himself more horribly than he already had. 

“I didn’t ask her to do that,” Derek explained. His hand hovered over Stiles’ back, unsure if he could touch Stiles again without repercussions, but Stiles’ hand fitted into his more securely and he figured they could at least get through the dance. 

“Of course not. It would be such a hardship to dance with someone you could care less about,” Stiles retorted, still avoiding Derek’s gaze. 

“You know how much I hate danc--” Derek froze, tripping over his feet at what Stiles had practically spat. “You think I don’t care about you?” Derek asked incredulously. His eyes widened as Stiles glanced up at him with a glare which told Derek that was exactly what Stiles was thinking. 

“You ended our rela-- our  _ ruse _ and have spent the entire evening joyfully to yourself and actively avoiding me. It’s pretty damn obvious,” Stiles scoffed, rolling his eyes and staring up at the ceiling as Derek had seen him do many times that night. 

“I’m avoiding you because you  _ obviously _ don’t feel the same about me as I do you,” Derek argued, pulling Stiles closer as the tempo of the music sped up. They twirled around the dance floor, too focused on each other to realize that everyone in the room had formed a circle around them. 

“What are you talking about?” Stiles whispered as he tightened his grip on Derek’s shoulder. His nails dug into Derek’s skin but he couldn’t bring himself to care with Stiles so close again. 

“I ended the ruse because I fell in love with you,” Derek blurted before he could change his mind. He had danced around his feelings for too many days to not be honest with Stiles then, when he might not have another chance. 

“You told me that we couldn’t be together anymore and I thought--” 

“You thought  _ wrong, _ Stiles. I told you the ruse had to end because we didn’t need it anymore. I thought I was clear when I said that I cared for you,” Derek choked out as Stiles’ hand moved to his face, holding his cheek so gently Derek had to hold his breath to stay focused on the task at hand. 

“You weren’t. You never are, Derek, but it’s one of the things I love about you,” Stiles whispered, leaning forward to rest their foreheads together as the music faded into a soft, dull beat. They stood still, staring into each other’s eyes as if waiting for the other to make the final move. 

“Our ruse may have ended, but I don’t want to pretend I’m not in love with you anymore,” Derek admitted, shaking his head before relenting to what his heart wanted and finally pressing his lips to Stiles’. He felt Stiles’ sharp intake of breath and was almost scared he had done something wrong once more, but Stiles’ fingers threaded through his hair and they kissed as passionately as they always had.

When Derek finally convinced himself to pull back, his lips tasted of champagne and Stiles no longer felt so far away. The crowd applauded around them and he finally felt as though fate had gotten her way. And so had he. 

**Author's Note:**

> I have a [Tumblr](https://sparkandwolf.tumblr.com) specifically for my Sterek obsession so feel free to follow it for updates and snippets and other Sterek content and use my ask to send me prompts, coda ideas, or just scream with me about Sterek. 
> 
> Also, feel free to follow my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/thatnerdemilyj) and let me know what you think. 
> 
> Please, please, please let me know your thought in the comments and leave kudos if you enjoyed it!


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